Which Teams Should Be Hitting The Panic Button In Early June?

So I just took a look at the standings to get a gauge on what’s going on around the majors. I had a pretty loose idea of who was doing well and who wasn’t, but I had no idea what the actual standings looked like and how many games back certain teams were.

I always think Memorial Day is a good time to start taking stock of what everything looks like and determining who may be the real deal, who flat out stinks and who may be performing a bit better or worse than they should.

I got together a few of the teams that have fallen to the back of the pack in their divisions and leagues and I’ll determine whether I think they are screwed, or if they have some hope to hang on to.

San Diego Padres– I like some of their younger players but they aren’t anywhere close to a team that can compete for even a Wild Card spot. That’s okay because they weren’t supposed to be. They are just grooming young talent for the future. Maybe in a few years, they’ll show something but right now, at 22-33 and 11.5 games back, they are out of it and will stay out of it.

San Francisco Giants– They have had a ROUGH go of it so far this year. I mean they have the same record as the Padres and sit the same amount of games back of the Colorado Rockies. The fact that Madison Bumgarner went down didn’t help and they just simply don’t look good in really anyway. They have a championship pedigree and an awesome manager, so I’m actually not ruling them out just yet.

Philadelphia Phillies– This was another team, like the Padres, that wasn’t really expected to compete. But they are AWFUL at 17-34 and already 15.5 games out. That’s disgusting, they stink, this is an easy call. They are done.

Miami Marlins– I’m surprised the Marlins are 12 games out because I feel like every time I look up I’m seeing a positive highlight for one of their players or something. I guess stats and all that really don’t add up to wins because they are 21-31 and 12 games out. I like the Marlins, but they aren’t making a run.

Atlanta Braves– The Braves are 22-29 and 10 games out. Jeez, the whole NL East is pretty much on this blog, which means the Washington Nationals should just hang their division winners banner right now. Atlanta’s got some nice players but I never looked at them as much of a threat so no surprise, but they are finished.

New York Mets– This is a sad one. At 23-29 and only 10 games out, I don’t want to call it quits on them, but I have to. They were expected to contend but their season has been so Metsy it’s ridiculous. As Kevin Clancy of Barstool Sports says, “Cancel the Mets.”

Oakland Athletics– This is one of those down periods for the A’s. I don’t even want to say that it’s because they have a bunch of no-name players because they win that way too. It’s just not happening for them right now and at 23-20 and 14.5 games out, it’s over.

Seattle Mariners– The Mariners are a disappointing squad this year. They sit at 25-30 and 13.5 games back. They just don’t have the type of depth I think they need and I’d say they are toast.

Texas Rangers– The two-time defending champions of the AL West are 26-28 and 12 games back. Of course, the whole AL West is so far back because the Houston Astros are a behemoth. I like the Rangers a lot though, and I don’t see them laying down and going away at all.

Los Angeles Angels– They are surprisingly in second place despite what I think is a pretty awful team. With Mike Trout out for two months though, they’ll fall hard. Enjoy the 28-29 record and being only 11.5 back while you can Angels fans.

So that’s that. None of these teams came from the AL East, AL Central or NL Central because those divisions are all separated by a handful of games. The NL East and AL West though, boy are they lousy. Most of these teams are cooked in my opinion, so narrow it down and decide for yourself who will be making a push toward October.

Jake is a sports blogger with a passion for baseball and the Red Sox. He loves pitcher's duels, ballpark food and listening to games on the radio. He's got some strong opinions on things like pace-of-play, the DH rule and more. Follow him on Twitter at @jarcher04.